One Secret Night, page 12
part #3 of Ivy Avengers Series
“Sure.” The assistant took the card.
* * *
Autumn sat cross-legged on the black leather ottoman, surfing the internet on her tablet. Raith was at the table working on his computer. Apparently, he brought his technology with him when he traveled. The only difference was he had more computers in Wyoming. Probably some secret networks, too.
She found another entertainment-news page. So far nothing about her and Raith. That was a good sign. There was an article on the party held at the Ivy mansion, and some pictures of Deangelo and other stars. Her parents had been interviewed. She saw Lincoln and Sabrina, and Arizona and Braden in one, but nothing was said about them. The photos of them had been taken outside the mansion, so they must have been willing. She and Raith had been more careful to avoid the press.
Turning off her tablet, Autumn put it on the ottoman. Raith sighed and leaned back against his chair, studying the screen. Talking to his dad had drained him. He hadn’t given up much information after ending the call, only said he was meeting him tomorrow. Something else bothered him. More than reuniting with his estranged father.
Drawn to him, she got up and stood behind him. She put her hands on his shoulders, an instinctive reflex. She almost pulled back when he reached up and covered her hand with one of his, also an automatic reflex. Warmth spread through her.
“What have you got so far?” she asked to distract herself from the sparks.
He lowered his hand as though realizing what he’d just done. She moved hers to the back of the chair.
“NV Advanced Corporation is global. They have offices in Singapore, United Kingdom, France and Luxembourg. Each company does something a little different, but all are doing military-grade optics. The Singapore office manufactures subassemblies for night-vision sights. All together they manufacture eyepiece and observation devices, seeker heads, surveillance systems, warning systems, and spotter and zoom lenses for UAVs.”
“Huh? Speak English, please.”
“They’re into some serious night-vision technology, including some new image intensifier tubes.”
“What’s that?”
“It protects the user from washouts caused by bright light. Nash’s company must have come up with something cutting edge.”
He was like a kid in a cool electronic-toy store. “And that was why Kai paid him a visit?”
“Possibly.”
It still made no sense why Kai would go ranting to Nash about technology that Nash’s company owned.
She moved to the chair beside him and sat.
Raith closed his computer and looked at her with new awareness. Gone was the thrill of cool equipment. Autumn felt peculiarly at ease with him.
Leaning over, he put his hand on the nape of her neck and kissed her softly. When he finished, he drew back a few inches and her whole body melted into a pool of desire.
“Are you hungry?” he murmured.
“Starving.” For him. She’d like nothing more than to spend a few more hours looking at him, kissing him, touching him.
He moved back and then stood, full of energy. “Let’s go out for dinner.”
* * *
Autumn had suggested Italian and Raith had taken her to Tivoli’s Italiano, a casual fine-dining restaurant in downtown Houston. The table was adorned with a white tablecloth and side chairs and was near a black piano, a man swaying as he gently touched the keys to create a soft, romantic tune. Through wood-trimmed glass doors, a solarium held more tables and a view of the tree-lined street. Beautiful murals of citrus trees and seaside villages covered the walls.
“How many times have you been to Italy?” he asked.
“Many.” She told him how beautiful the Sea of Naples was in Italy. “And Mount Vesuvius, in a morbid sort of way. I find it hard to comprehend how so many people would live there today.” While he appreciated what she said, she asked, “Have you been there?”
“Once. Most of my travels are to less civilized places.”
“Rescuing people?”
“Sometimes.”
What did he do most of the time? Kill people? She looked toward the pianist, trying to preserve her enjoyment of this night.
“I help those in need fight for justice,” he said.
She turned back to him. “You fight for justice?” Even though he abided by no laws?
“Always.”
But he was open to doing something different. He’d indicated so before. That and her belief that he fought for justice gave her a wave of soft contentment that she had to struggle to contain.
A waiter stopped by and asked if they’d like some wine. Autumn declined and asked for a sparkling water instead. Raith scrutinized her before asking for the same.
“You drank the night I met you,” he said.
He’d noticed she’d skipped wine before, too. Autumn fought to keep her expression neutral. “I don’t like to drink a lot. It isn’t healthy.”
“You’re a health fanatic?”
She smiled. “No. My clothes are getting tight. Alcohol is empty calories.”
She suffered more of his scrutiny. “What a tragedy if your clothes didn’t fit.”
“It has more to do with size. I love to shop.” She often didn’t wear the same thing twice. Only when she really loved whatever she’d bought did the outfit make it a second day.
Leaning back against his chair, his green eyes flitted over the top of the black dress she’d changed into. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
She sipped from the water glass that had been brought to the table when they’d first sat down.
“It’s about that night.”
She sipped some more water. Oh, no.
“Were you...on the pill or anything?”
His question came with a sting of shock. How would she answer that?
“Yes.” She felt bad for lying. But she had been up until a few days before that.
Relief relaxed his eyes and he grinned. Damn if she didn’t find that grin sexy even as he revealed how much he didn’t want children...well, at least not with her, maybe not with any woman. If she was blatantly honest, she didn’t want children, either. One night of careless impulse had taken that choice away from her. Careless didn’t adequately describe the attraction that had begun with the first sight of him walking toward her in the elevator lobby. Natural did. That indescribable zing had intensified on their way to her room, and burned into all-out passion once they’d gone inside. No, not careless. More like destiny. Fate.
Autumn believed people made their own fate and destiny, and that night had challenged those beliefs. Had she been forging her own path, she’d have stopped to think more on the consequences. But the desire had been too gripping, too real.
“I usually check before,” he said, telling her he’d spent the lapse in conversation thinking of that night, as well.
“Oh.” She nodded and sipped her water again, still lost in that one-night memory.
“Is something wrong?”
Setting down her glass, she smoothed the napkin over her lap. “No. I was just...thinking.”
The bustling activity around her fell away as his eyes locked her in intimate recollection. The idea of doing it again heated the energy. And just as quickly cooled the moment.
The waiter arrived to take their order, leveling the moment. She ordered first and then Raith did. The waiter left.
Autumn watched Raith for signs of suspicion. All she saw was a man content to be here with her. In fact, every time their gazes met, unruly sparks played havoc on her senses. A faint voice in her head warned that he was content because he thought she wasn’t pregnant and wouldn’t be, but it wasn’t enough to douse the fire.
“This restaurant reminds me of a place in LA,” she said. “I went on a date with my sky-diving instructor. There was music, good food and great conversation. There were no murals on the walls, only paintings.”
“You dated a sky-diving instructor?”
She smiled. “He was a lot of fun.”
“What happened to him— Let me guess. The media started taking pictures of the two of you.”
The dark-haired, blue-eyed instructor had charmed her that night and many others. She had liked him. And Raith was right. The media had ruined everything. She’d taken a translating job, and when she returned three months later, the instructor had found someone else.
“How long did he last?”
“Six months.”
Raith whistled low and soft. “I’m impressed. That must be your record.”
It was. “Stop it.”
He chuckled. “You escaped the media for that long?”
“No. They caught us a few times.” She looked down at the table in front of her as she remembered how much she’d thought of him while she’d been away.
“You must have really liked him.”
She raised her head. “What?”
“Didn’t you feel trapped when the media was taking pictures and publishing articles about you?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“And yet you put up with it.”
For a while. She saw his point.
“In the end, you left.” The way he looked at her made Autumn wonder if he regretted staying for the party. Had he flown back to Houston without her, she wouldn’t be here right now. There would be no danger of them falling in love.
Falling in love?
Autumn sat straighter. Could she fall in love with him? Was he worried about falling in love with her?
“Have you ever been with anyone you really cared for?” she asked. He seemed to be such a loner.
The waiter returned with their meal and she thought he’d avoid answering.
“Once when I was twenty-two, and again when I was thirty-six.”
Four years ago. “What happened?”
“I was gone for eight months and the first one gave up on me. The second one...” He looked away. Then he stabbed a bite of his steak and put it into his mouth.
Well, well, well. He had obviously had strong feelings for the woman. After dealing with a wave of jealousy, she pressed for more.
“How long were you with her?”
He drank some water before saying, “A year.”
That was probably a long time for him. “How did you meet her?”
“She runs a café in Lander. I met her at a festival. The owner of the hardware store introduced me.”
That sounded romantic. “You’re friends with the hardware store man?”
“Both him and his wife. I spend my holidays with them.”
“Family.” That was probably the closest he’d ever gotten to one. Autumn found that sad and endearing at the same time. He must get lonely. The hardware store owners must ease the ache.
He nodded, eating more of his steak. “They’re always inviting me to events. Most of the time I’m obligated to go.”
She smiled, recognizing the cover-up. “You love how they care about you. Desi, too.”
Putting his fork down, he sent her a fond but tolerant look.
“What attracted you to her?” she asked.
Now he cocked his head.
“Looks?”
“She is a beautiful woman.”
“What else?”
“Why are you asking me all these questions?”
Because he was the father of her baby and she was beginning to think there was a chance for them. “Just tell me.”
“She had a gun collection. Old guns. She liked the history of them. Studied wars and the weapons used for the time.”
“She sounds rough.”
He laughed briefly. “She isn’t. She’s actually soft-spoken. Kind and giving. The only reason we lasted a year is she gave me more of a chance than I deserved.”
“You weren’t home much?”
He shook his head.
Neither was Autumn. She understood his lifestyle, at least the rarely home part. He seemed to realize the same thing as they stared at each other across the table for long moments, sending sparks flying.
After finishing dinner in that warmth, Autumn stepped outside with Raith. Their rental was a couple of blocks away.
Down the street at the corner, she heard the sound of a carnival going on and saw the lights. Not wanting the night to end, she took Raith’s hand and tugged him in that direction.
“Come on, let’s go to the carnival.”
With a chuckle, he kept holding her hand as they walked down the street. Flashing and blinking lights brightened the parking lot where the carnival was set up. Laughter and screaming kids joined the sound of the generators running the rides. Autumn smelled cotton candy and fried food.
She took him straight to the Zipper. The line was long and the operator had long, dull, uncombed hair and a scraggly beard. His eyes were vacuous and a cigarette stuck out from his mouth. He didn’t even squint from the smoke as he ended a ride and people began filing off.
“You would pick this one,” Raith said.
It did satisfy her thirst for adventure and travel. It wasn’t Milan, but...close.
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to ride this.”
She stepped forward with him in line. “Scared?”
“I haven’t ridden one since I was twelve.”
“Then you’re long overdue.”
“I don’t see any other forty-year-olds getting on this.”
She laughed, not seeing any either and hearing his teasing tone. “Man up. It’s our turn.”
With a chuckle, he let her in their car first.
“We just ate dinner,” he said.
Autumn couldn’t tame a big smile as the ride began to move. She was also very aware of Raith’s big body next to her. Their car twirled as it rose to the top and they headed down toward the pavement. Screams came from the other cars in front and behind them. A few minutes later the ride ended and neither of them lost their dinner.
She took him to two other rides before he finally protested and stopped at the Shoot Out the Star game.
“You going to win me that big stuffed bear?” she asked him.
“How many of them do you want?”
He was fun to be with. Behaving like a teenager again had its rewards. “One is enough.”
He paid the operator, this one with a shaved head and dark stubble poking out with new growth and tattoos all over his arms and creeping up his neck.
Lifting the BB gun, he aimed and shot out a circle around the points of the stars and moments later the center fell down. The operator didn’t look happy as he handed over the polar bear.
Autumn hugged it as they turned away.
The crying of a young boy stopped them both. The youngster stood in the middle of the walkway between a line of games and food kiosks. He must have just realized he was lost.
Autumn went to him. “Where was the last place you saw your parents?” she asked.
The boy cried louder, probably remembering being told not to talk to strangers.
“Come on.” Autumn extended her hand. “Let’s go find them.”
The boy didn’t give over his hand but pointed down the walkway.
“Okay, follow us. We’ll help you find them.”
The boy’s crying eased and he began to follow them. Seeing a woman searching frantically through the crowd, Autumn headed there.
“Mommy!” the boy yelled.
“Jonathan!” The woman knelt down and the boy clung to her.
She raised her eyes to Autumn and Raith. When the boy quieted, she stood. “Thank you.”
Autumn extended the bear to the boy. “You could probably use this more than me.”
A smile lit up his tear-streaked face. “Thank you! You won this?”
Aiming her thumb toward Raith, she said, “He did it. At the Shoot Out the Star game.”
“Wow! You must be a good shot!”
“I’m not bad.”
Autumn eyed him, recalling how he’d shot the assassin in Reykjavik. He must have shot a lot more than that in his line of work. And it not at all resembled a carnival game.
“Jonathan tried for an hour to win something on that game,” his mother said. “Thank you so much.”
“Looks like I’ll have to go win another one.” Raith looked at Autumn with a grin and winked. Sexy shooter.
Hooking her arm with his, she walked with him back to the booth.
The operator saw them and said, “We have a one prize limit per player.”
Raith took out his wallet and handed the man a hundred-dollar bill. The man smiled.
Autumn was giddy with pleasure. The operator had no doubt Raith would win her another bear. He smiled and gave a nod.
Raith took a few shots and did indeed win her another big bear.
Carrying it in one arm, she left the game with Raith and they headed for the car. He took hold of her free hand and she looked up at him, still smiling from the fun.
Breathing in the night air beneath a clear, starlit sky, she wished this pleasant glow would never end. He unlocked the doors and walked with her to the passenger side. She faced him before getting in, feeling playful and not ready to go yet.
Stepping closer, she put her hand on his chest. “Thanks for the bear.”
His grin smoothed in the wake of awareness. “It’s the first.”
“First bear you’ve ever won for a girl?”
“Yes.” His eyes took in every feature of her face, making her feel caressed.
“I feel special, then.”
“It’s a special bear.”
Just as she thought of how special it would be when she gave it to their baby, he bent to kiss her. The bear squished as his arm slid around her and he pulled her to him.
Instant passion flared. All that was missing was the hissing sound a firework made as it rocketed into the air. She sank into the kiss, giving all she had, or all her heart had.
